


every bit of hope

by Tattered



Series: Love Is Transcendent [4]
Category: Korean Drama, 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 - 도깨비 | Goblin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Family, Pregnancy, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9658940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tattered/pseuds/Tattered
Summary: Where the impossible is never really impossible.Or, the building of a family.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Writing this because we're deprived of ShinTak babies and I was like, hell no. Haha. Anyway, this is set in the universe of the first installment of this series, "In All the Spaces and Lifetimes Between Us", so don't be confused. I didn't pull this out of nowhere haha.
> 
> Enjoy! This story is a two-parter, and I hope you'd wait for the next chapter.

Eventually, she opted to brew to soothe her nerves.

In the past few weeks, Eun Tak felt a shift inside her. Her stomach rebelled on the anything savory, dissipating her hunger. She would inconspicuously find her way to the restroom in the wee hours of the morning in hopes that her husband wouldn't notice. The bitterness of coffee was ash-like against her tongue. She favored the sweet and salty, munching on sugar-glazed bread and snacking on chips in between breaks. She never ate too much, but her appetite seemingly grew exponentially. Her body felt sluggish and sore, even when she would take days to rest from work.

It was bothersome, but it left her curious. All signs pointed to something she wouldn't dare to imagine (her husband is a goblin, for heaven's sake).

It couldn't be, could it?

The closing of the front door resounded against the quiet of the room. Eun Tak almost jumped from her seat, but gripped tightly on her skirt. In a matter of seconds, her husband was standing across her, a searching look on his face.

(Of course, he would notice. He wasn’t a renowned military general a millennium ago for nothing.)

Eun Tak gave him a shaky smile, which had Kim Shin leaning over her across the dining table.

“I think I’m pregnant,” she whispered, disbelief coloring her voice. Eun Tak bit her lip, “Or I’m just stressed and my body’s coping.”

Her husband took her hand to his.

“It’s not possible, is it?” Eun Tak laughed humorlessly, her free hand combing on her loose curls. “You’re…you’re— and I’m…“

“You are pregnant.”

The steadiness on her husband’s voice surprised her.

Eun Tak shifted her eyes to her husband’s, eyes glassy in overwhelming euphoria. His smile was so wide. “You’re pregnant,” he repeated. “Samshin promised.”

She pulled herself up, circling the table and held her husband as tight as her smaller frame could hold him. She could feel his body trembling against hers, but no tear dampened the curve of her neck. He lifted her to the table, still holding her close, his lips pressing hard on the junction of her neck and head. His breaths tickled her head as she cradled her against him.

She planted her lips on his neck, laying invisible marks on the skin over his collarbone. (She thanked spring for coming on time, for letting her savor the expanse of his exposed skin.) Crescents were dug against the fabric covering his arm as she whispered in gratitude with every kiss. In turn, his hand snaked beneath the thin cloth of her button down, tracing lines on her waist as if calling on the growing child on her womb.

(He was tracing lines and curves against her skin. It was only later when she realized he was drawing the characters of their child’s name, marking them both as his family.)

\--

_He always thought it would be a different child – a sister of hers, or someone she would be babysitting for a friend. When she finally finds him in her second life, visions of an almost impossible future assaulted his mind. He knew it was her bride because she had the same smile, the same face when she left him. This time she is dressed in a thin hospital gown cradling a newborn wrapped in a pale-yellow blanket._

_The next image was colored with the sound of her and the child’s laughter as the latter took her first steps. He could barely discern his face from the haze, but he was sure he was the one to release his hold from the child as she stomped proudly to her mother._

_Then the child was crying, tightly holding her mother’s waist as the mother brushed the child’s hair in comfort._

_The child – now a woman – proudly smiling at him and his bride as she proudly strode on stage to receive her diploma._

_Him, dancing with his bride as their child danced with her own beau._

_When his bride was finally standing in front of him, he was tearing up because he saw the future he always wanted to share with her._

_A future with their family._

\--

Eun Tak woke up in mornings with Kim Shin tracing her barely swollen stomach in his sleep.

Between the two of them, she is the early riser. (In some other lifetime, it was Kim Shin, but with her return came the peace that settled in his weary bones.) She took control of the kitchen and let the man linger in the comforts of their bed for minutes longer, his face buried to her unoccupied pillow. With her return, former routines came to place, as if she hasn’t been gone for decades.

The first few days after the confirmation of her pregnancy, she would wake to the gentle ministrations of her husband, his thumb caressing the slopes of her abdomen. She would feel his face against the crevice of her neck, his breaths brushing the small hairs near her nape. he would be curling around her, his arms protectively encasing her small body.

At times, she wanted to curse the gods for keeping him alone.

At times, she wanted to curse herself, too.

(For being vulnerable. For being fragile. For leaving. For always having the opportunity and strength to leave.)

When he finally wakes, Eun Tak would hold him close, apologies bridging decades worth of waiting between them.

\--

At the beginning of the second trimester, the passing of her morning sickness somehow brought her relief. Her body was beginning to catch up with the burden of providing for two, and she would be more tired than before. It gave her an excuse to stay in bed longer than usual, and it was something her husband took advantage of.

When the haziness brought upon by sleep is slowly clearing from her consciousness, she could feel her husband’s breath against her stomach. At first, she wondered if he was listening for the child – a hint of heartbeat or movement from the child’s shell. Upon further listening, she discovered that her husband was reciting poetry to their child. Her old book in one of his hands, his baritone voice was carried by the hush of dawn as it filled their room.

At times, Eun Tak would be moved to tears, which she do her best to control so as not to disturb the soothing tone of her husband’s voice.

Instead, her hand would find its way to his hair, signaling him that she was already awake. He would always plant a kiss first on her abdomen, just above her umbilicus before finding her lips.

\--

Eun Tak wanted to have a son. When she told that to Kim Shin, her husband only smirked.

(Damn seer.)

So, on the day of her prenatal check-up when they were to know their child’s sex, they made a bet. Whoever guessed their child’s sex would have full reign on designing their child’s room.

(Eun Tak knows her husband would win, but decided to humor him.)

The thing with her husband is that he would get easily fascinated with technology despite living for centuries once he took a closer look at it. He would openly stare at the tools and instruments his eyes would land on, and even had a staring contest at the waiting room with a toddler. (In his defense, the child stared first, but he could be pettily competitive half the time. Also, he saw that the child would be the future prime minister of South Korea, so he had to take a good look at him.)

When the obstetrician tells them that their child is a girl, Kim Shin raised his arms triumphantly, shouting “Hah!”

When she arrived from work the next day, a frantic group of laborers were rushing in and out of their house. She could only shake her head.

(When the nursery finally comes together, Kim Shin led her blindfolded to the room. He placed their hands – his atop of hers – against the textured wall, against the antique crib and rocking chair he carved with his own hands, the different charms of the mobile attached to the crib with their own stories. She felt the intricately molded bouquet of buckwheat flowers, the sharpness of the tip of the sword, its contrast to the softness of a small hat, a jade ring, and the words _Destin._

That night, they mourned for their lost family as they celebrated the coming of the new one.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love you've sent on the first part of this! Anyway, the second chapter just wraps up the first one. I hope you like it as well.
> 
> Also, heads up to the readers. This doesn't really follow the timeline in the script posted by bodashiri in tumblr. I want our lovely couples to meet, original script be damned haha just kidding. Enjoy!

Her swollen abdomen was an object of fascination whenever she would stare at the mirror.

In the mornings, as she finished bathing, Eun Tak would find herself standing in front of the floor-length mirror. Her hands would trace the sloping curve, catching the waves elicited by the movements of the little human in her womb. At times, she would be grouchy, inwardly scoffing about how big she appeared and how bloated she felt. Her husband would be unnaturally sensitive about that, peppering kisses on the apex of her enlarging abdomen and muttering about the nonsense multimedia showed her about pregnancy. He would tell her that women are created to nurture life within and around them, and whatever mark those would left are odes to victory.

(He usually knows the right thing to say.)

This time, she dropped her bath robe on the floor and groaned as she gazed at her reflection.

Stretch marks already began threading against her pale skin. A dark line traversing her lower abdomen horizontally contrasted against them. Her umbilicus, while sunken, was evidently stretched. Eun Tak was not one to worry about physical appearances more than any woman, but drastic bodily changes were not really the most pleasant part in pregnancy.

Large, warm hands enveloped hers as her husband dropped a kiss on the angle of her neck. His thumb drew comforting circles against her skin, and a kick from her womb served as her child’s reply.

The only one who could make her feel better about her physical appearance these days held her from behind.

Kim Shin acted like it was the first time he saw a pregnant woman. He passed the time purchasing and reading books on childbirth and parenting. She would have teased him into studying to become an obstetrician or counselor, but Eun Tak knew better to avoid any embarrassing declarations from her husband. (He was never meant for mundane things, it seemed.) He would worry when she would wake in the middle of the night to urinate, when she groaned about not having the best sleep, when she would get nauseated at the smell or sight of food, when she would work even minutes past her work time. He worried they would cross the street, or when the slightest draft would blow on them.

It was very endearing and irritating at the same time.

“Eun Tak-ah, your stomach is as beautiful as the ripest of watermelons on a harvest month.”

She had to admit, her husband had the most alluring voice of all the people she met, even with the most ridiculous things coming off his mouth.

“Kim Shin.”

He rested his chin against her shoulder.

“No sexy time for you this week.”

\--

The section of baby clothes in the department store appeared like rainbow vomited all over it.

Eun Tak frowned at the ridiculous trend for baby’s clothes this season. While she’s listed clothes for her child in the baby shower registry hosted by her closest friends, she wanted to buy the first clothes her child is going to wear upon birth. Nearing her maternal leave, she decided to beat deadline after deadline, knowing her husband wouldn’t keep her and their child out of his sight for at least months.

Also, she didn’t trust her husband not to go over the top with his choice of baby’s clothes. She had to remind him time and again that their child isn’t walking down some runway anytime soon.

She took a beige jumper off the rack. With a hand on her abdomen, she asked, “Do you want to wear this?”

Only a slight wave of movement answered her.

Her child’s kicking had been a form of communication that she and her husband couldn’t enough of. These days, she would be woken by kicks on her abdomen as her husband talked about everything to their child in the early hours of the morning. At times, he would spout promises only he could do because he is a goblin. At times, he would speak of their old lives, and a soft kick would brush her husband’s cheek in comfort. At times, he would ask the child about the most random of things, and yeses would correspond to a series of kicks.

She was about to grab the next item on the rack when someone bumped on the underside of her abdomen.

“Oomph,” a small voice said. “Sorry.”

Stepping back, Eun Tak saw a child that merely reached her waist. He was rubbing his forehead as a pout decorated his red lips.

“I’m sorry too. Are you alright?” She reached a hand, brushing his hair back. “My stomach is too big. I didn’t see you.”

The child looked up, and at the back of her mind, Eun Tak knew she’s seen his features in another face. The dark, round eyes that are framed with long lashes. The plumpness of his cheek. The lips. The slight curl of his hair. The angle of his jaw. The confidence by which he held himself.

“Geun-ah!” A baritone voice called, and the child looked towards the direction of the voice.

Eun Tak had to blink to control the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

Wang Yeo was walking towards them, his look of worry melting into exasperation as he waited his son to reach him. The man lowered himself, and Geun – the child – held on his neck like a lost animal. The father and son whispered back and forth, and the child pointed at her. Her breath hitched as her old friend, who she never thought she would see again, approached her.

“I’m Lee Hyuk, Geun’s father. I apologize for my son’s interruption,” he courteously bowed, and Eun Tak almost reached for him.

“It’s alright. There’s no harm done,” Eun Tak replied, smiling as she bit her lip. “He’s a very polite kid.”

Her old friend’s smile was blindingly bright. She wondered about the last time he saw that smile, when he gifted her a bouquet of buckwheat flowers for her old wedding.

“I’m glad he is. My wife would kill me if he isn’t.” She had to laugh at how casually he said the word kill, when he was so sensitive of it lifetimes ago. His gaze dropped to her protruding abdomen. “Your first child?”

Eun Tak nodded. “I was looking for my baby’s first clothes when he bumped to me.”

Father and son looked at each other. “I think we can recommend you a good place to start looking for,” Wang Yeo – now Lee Hyuk – said. He motioned for her to follow him.

Father and son led her to a boutique a few paces outside of the department store. The pale blue background of the store was calming to her eyes, and Eun Tak was easily drawn by the white and pastels on display.

“Omma, preg-ant!” Geun called, greeting someone from the counter.

It was just as she raised her head that she saw her old friend kissing another familiar face.

“First baby clothes?”

Her former boss spoke with the same tone of certainty, as if she knew what you came for. She appeared just as beautiful as she once was, but with a hint of maternal softness in her features. The old Kim Sun took a pair of clothes from the rack closest to her before passing it to her.

Eun Tak held the baby clothes in her hand, feeling the soft, lightweight material on her fingertips. She knew from her first look that she would purchase it.

“I have other choices, if you want to. Don’t be disarmed by my husband and son.”

Eun Tak shook her head, “Aniya. I like it. I will buy it. If you have other choices, I would like to see them as well.”

The former Kim Sun smiled.

She learned that Kim Sun – now Lee In Na – is formerly an actress, but now spent more time managing her businesses. Lee Hyuk would hang out at the store and care for their child when he has a free day from the precinct, and Geun is three years old. Eun Tak shared her woes to In Na, and the older woman avidly told her stories of her own pregnancy.

Eun Tak spent more time and money than she expected to spend, but nothing would match the happiness that she felt with the family she thought she and her husband lost. The Lee couple even gifted her the first clothes she decided to buy.

(She told them she would bring her husband along with her on her next visit.)

She couldn’t wait to tell Kim Shin about them.

\--

The hours of pacing outside the maternal ward finally caught up with her husband.

Kim Shin curled himself protectively beside her on her hospital bed, holding her delicately to avoid adding to her post-labor pains.

Her labor went on for almost half a day, in which she nearly broke her husband’s hand as he barged into the hospital when the first of her true labor contractions came. (Being a goblin worked for him this time.) Labors for the first child could go on for hours, he quoted in the middle of a contraction, and for the first time in her life, she smacked his cheek.

She profusely apologized afterwards.

At two in the morning, she lay wide awake on her hospital bed. Sleep barely ended the tiredness she felt, but her body resisted. Instead, she closed her eyes, clearing her mind of the stresses that piled up in the past few hours.

Moments later, the air stirred with the beginning signs of a sob from their child.

In one swift motion, her husband was up and about, circling the bed to the other side. She opened her eyes slightly, watching as he carefully took the child’s small body from the bassinet and cradled the child against his chest. His body swayed with the sound of his murmurs, and he continued his ministrations until their child returned to her slumber.

As the breaths of their child returned into soft puffs, her husband caught her eye with a soft smile before dropping his watchful gaze into the small body that was half his and half hers.

They named her Da Hee, for hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Korean name meanings:
> 
> Geun, from what I've searched, meant "root, foundation." I did select that name for Wang Yeo and Kim Sun's son because I remember Kim Sun saying that she wanted their love to be the answer to the questions in their relationship. I think she wants their love to suffice, and I complimented it with the starting of their family as the cornerstone of that love.
> 
> Da Hee (also Da Hui), from what I've searched, meant "many" (Da) and "hope" (Hee/Hui). Just like any ShinTak shipper out there, I want their own lives to be full of hope -- whatever lifetime they spent together in whatever circumstance they share. I want hope for them because they're breaking my heart with their sad love.
> 
> Anyway, I hope the names made sense. Thank you for reading!


End file.
